The present invention relates to communications networks, and, more particularly, to unified messaging and global distribution services to provide personal information-to a user at a reasonable cost.
People increasingly rely on personal information that they access on a regular basis. The-personal information may include professional information that a user uses to conduct their professional life. The personal information may include, or be facilitated by, a wide variety of information services, including sending and receiving messages such as electronic mail, voice mail, or facsimile transmissions, and accessing and updating contact lists, address books, and other applications. The personal information may be stored by any of a variety of wired and wireless telephone carriers, service providers, information portals, and other content providers. Often, the personal information is stored at, and can be only accessed at, disparate locations. Access to this personal information has generally not kept pace with the travel schedules of users of the personal information. A user may spend a great deal of time away from a computer and thus away from easy access to the personal information. For example, the international and national traveler in today""s economy can benefit greatly from access to a wide variety of information services.
For international travelers, there is no easy way to access personal information cost effectively. Presently, one conventional way for a user to access the information at the lowest cost is by utilizing a personal computer and by dialing up the local partner network of the user""s service provider. Such dial-up access involves paying roaming charges on a per minute usage basis, paying a connection fee to the local provider, and possibly other charges as well. In some instances, it is difficult to get access to a modem line or a local area network (LAN) line or a wireless connection. Depending on the size of the data that a user need to download, a significant cost may be borne by the user. In addition, a user must tolerate the time consuming and cumbersome nature of many information, downloads. Moreover, in some countries, the data lines, even when accessed, are not as effective as they are in the United States. Even more important, there are times, towards the end of the day for example, when a user does not want to open up a laptop and connect via the modem lines to access the personal information.
In instances where a traveling user does not speak or read the predominant language in the host country, the situation is even more complicated. Servers at the host country typically do not provide user interfaces in languages other than those of the host country. A service provider""s local server may need to reroute the user""s browser to a server in a country that provides interfaces in the user""s language. This may be an expensive proposition for the user. The service provider may not be able to provide access to the user""s personal information at that interface. The user will often pay significant long-distance charges in return for the privilege of getting personal settings along with access to personalized services and applications.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an alternative system that does not suffer from the drawbacks and weaknesses of existing implementations but rather that provides one-stop access to personal information and a host of information services anywhere in the world at any time at a reasonable cost.
Systems and methods to provide a user traveling to domestic and international locations with unified messaging services, personalized settings, and other information services without dialing up a server over an expensive long distance connection are presented. Access to information services is provided in the traveling user""s language, independent of the country in which the user may be situated at the time of access. The systems and methods provide one-stop access to personal information and a host of information services anywhere in the world at any time.
A method of cooperating with a telephone exchange to provide a user with centralized-access to messages according to one aspect of the invention is presented. Telephone numbers of users are stored. A telephone call is received. The telephone call is forwarded from a telephone exchange. The telephone call has a destination telephone number and originates from a calling party. The destination telephone number is compared with the telephone numbers. If the destination telephone number matches one of the telephone numbers, a user corresponding to the destination telephone number is identified, the calling party is prompted to leave a voice mail message for the user, the voice mail message is stored in a database, and the user is granted access to the voice mail message.
A method of cooperating with a telephone exchange to provide a user with centralized access to messages according to another aspect of the invention is presented. Facsimile numbers of users are stored. A facsimile call is received. The facsimile call is forwarded from a telephone exchange. The facsimile call carries facsimile data and has a destination facsimile number. The destination facsimile number is compared with the facsimile numbers. If the destination facsimile number matches one of the facsimile numbers, a user corresponding to the destination facsimile number is identified, the facsimile data are formatted into a facsimile message, the facsimile message is stored in a database, and the user is granted access to the facsimile message.
In view of the foregoing, the presently preferred embodiments provide access to information at a reduced cost by consolidating information from various sources and making the information available internationally at the cost of a local telephone call. The embodiments provide the capabilities for information access and information exchange internationally to all users while overcoming barriers of location, bandwidth, and language. The embodiments provide a multi lingual platform and a distributed architecture that can serve as a value-added proposition to any of a variety of information and content providers in the telecommunications, networking, and service provider industries. The embodiments provide a one-stop service for consolidation of all personal information, including professional information if applicable, at one access point and provide access to the information internationally at a reasonable cost.